Land Ho
by HonouxRyuu
Summary: Paul is the second mate of the good-natured Galactic Pirates. Dawn is the Fleet Admiral's daughter, and is the 1st division Captain under the Marines. But more than anything, she despises pirates. What happens when their worlds collide? Ikarishipping vs Pearlshipping Rated T for now
1. The Galactic Pirates

**Disclaimer: I be not owning Pokemon~! Arrrr, mateys~! XDXDXD**

 **Here we are, the first chapter to a brand new story! XD I came up with this story a while back, and I gotta say, I'm really looking forward to bringing this story to you guys XDXDXD I'll say this now, this story, is a LOT different from my usual stories and I'll just say this now, the Ikarishipping won't come until WAY later on. This story starts off with Pearlshipping, but will lead to Ikarishipping vs Pearlshipping later on in the story. XD I can't tell you which ship wins in the end, because that's for me to know and for you to find out. :3c**

 **Another glaring difference here is… -sighs- That's right! Cyrus is actually NOT a villain in this story, but rather, he's actually one of the main protagonists!**

 **Cyrus: FINALLY, MY TIME HAS COME~!**

 **Me: Wellll, I wouldn't keep my hopes up. Coz you're a pirate… A good pirate, but still a pirate… and a Pirate Captain nonetheless… Not only that, the focus is mainly on Dawn and Paul, so you probably won't get much screen time.**

 **Cyrus: I DON'T CARE AS LONG AS I'M THE GOOD GUY FOR ONCE~!**

 **-Sweat drops- Aaaaaanywho, while Cyrus here is celebrating his first non-villain role another important thing to bring up. This is an AU story, and many of the characters will be drastically different in characters from their anime-canon counterparts. Dawn won't be the bubbly cheerful girl you're all familiar with. Paul's character won't be the same as he's portrayed in the anime as well. And Cyrus, oh, I actually have great plans for Cyrus' character XD I think you'll all enjoy how I portray him here. Everyone in this story will be a young adult or older, not the usual teenaged characters I'm known for. Coz well, I mean, if our characters are pirates and marines, I doubt they would be like 16 year old teenagers and such. :PP**

 **We will have Pokemon in this story, but each character will be limited to having one Pokemon which represents them the most. In Paul's case, his Electivire, in Dawn's case, Piplup, or Empoleon in the case of this story. This way, the Pokemon have much more time to develop along with their trainers since there's not as much Pokemon in this story. Though it's not like Pokemon will be their only form of fighting and such. In the cases of the marines, they're well-trained in physical combat as well, so even without their Pokemon they can kick butt. This goes for the pirates as well. XDXDXD There will also be guns in this story, since it's a pirate themed story. I mean, it only makes sense, right? XD**

 **Anyways, I think I stalled long enough. With everything out of the way, I think it's time for us to start! If you have any questions for me, regarding lore or otherwise, feel free to PM me or just ask me in a review! Hold on to your hats and get ready for one hell of a ride… I present to you… Land Ho!**

 **Land Ho**

 **Chapter 1: The Galactic Pirates**

The first scene begins with a grand chase happening. An explosion occurs at a large mansion and a group of four, a young woman with red hair, a blue haired young man, a purple haired woman, and finally, a purple haired young man, all of them fleeing from the scene with riches and gold being hauled by their Pokemon. They were being chased by the mansion guards and their Pokemon. A wealthy, obese noble with a curly mustache and a rich-looking red suit has his eyes widened as he points at the four thieves desperately.

"Those blasted pirates! They've stolen my treasure!" The noble shrieks as he has his guards go after them. "After them! Hunt them down! Do not let them escape!" As the noble says this, the purple haired man simply rolls his eyes at this as he makes his getaway with his comrades. His partner, Electivire, fires a Thunder attack on a guard's Houndoom, hitting it hard as the four of them make their way back to their ship.

Their ship was a large, majestic black pirate ship with a huge mast. The center flag had a Duskull and crossbones in the form of a Jolly Roger. The bow of the ship was a Gyarados' face with its jaw opened wide. It was a beautiful ship… And for these pirates, it was their home.

"These treasures were never yours to begin with! They belong to the people! We're simply returning them to their rightful place!" The purple haired man says to the noble defiantly. "Your days of corrupt bargaining, loaning and over-taxing of the citizens ends here, noble! Electivire, use Thunder on the mansion!" As the purple haired man says this, the electric Pokemon complies as it fires a huge, wicked thunderbolt on the mansion, setting it on fire as the building begins to crumble and falls to the floor. The noble's curses can be heard from the falling mansion as the four pirates board the ship, welcomed warmly by a man with a hearty laugh. He was a light blue haired man with spiky hair and a wide, welcoming grin on his face. Although he had sharp, intimidating eyes, he was a hearty, fun-loving man… And he considered his crewmates as family.

"Well done, everyone! That's another corrupt noble brought to justice!" The light blue haired man says with a wide grin. "We shall head back to the village, and tonight, we shall drink and have a hearty celebration for our victory today~! At this rate, the Galactic Pirates will be well-renowned all over the world! Bahahahahaha~!" He laughs cheerily as he takes a swig of rum cheerfully. An older man with purple hair tied to a small ponytail rubs his temples at this and sighs. Their captain was certainly an energetic one despite his age. He then turns to the younger purple haired boy and puts his hand on his shoulder, welcoming him back to their home. He was shown to be the chef of their ship, wearing an apron as he arrives at the scene.

"Welcome back, Paul, another job well-done!" The older man says, welcoming his brother back and handing him wooden bowl of soup for their dinner. The purple haired boy named Paul, who upon looking at him more clearly, was a young man of about 18 years old. He was quite handsome, and his purple hair was shoulder length. His eyes were sharp and serious, filled with determination. He was the captain's second mate, and his most trusted ally. The purple haired young man simply nods his head at the older man, acknowledging him as he greets them.

"Thanks, Reiji!" Paul says to the purple haired man, accepting Reiji's cooking. He then looks towards the rest of his crewmates and smiles a bit as they interact with each other. The red haired woman, the ship's doctor, was tending to the injuries of her comrades. She was tending to the blue haired man and wrapping bandages around his waist, only to grow red in the cheeks as the purple haired woman snickers at them teasingly.

"Aw, now isn't that sweet, widdle Mars taking care of her boyfriend~!" The purple haired woman, who was the navigator of their ship, says teasingly and comically as the both of them grow red in the cheeks. "It's like you two were made for each other~! Saturn and Mars, the best ship~!" She says comically and teasingly. Saturn, the ship's shipwright, and Mars grow red in the cheek as they are teased. The blue haired man then gets a slight vein mark at the purple haired woman.

"Can it, Jupiter…" Saturn says to the purple haired woman with a low grunt. He then winces as Mars bandages an injury around his arm and applies ointment to the wound. The purple haired woman grins and snickers at Saturn's irritation and denial over his feelings for the red haired woman. She then hears her stomach growl loudly and eagerly goes over to Reiji, looking to have some of his cooking. Cyrus had a bottle of rum in his hands, laughing and singing cheerily as the ship takes off to the village. Paul simply smiles at how peaceful, yet lively things were and closes his eyes as he lies down, looking up at the sunrise. It felt as if these fun-filled days could last forever…

… If only it were that were true…

Meanwhile, someplace far away, a huge, impenetrable fortress stood tall above the ocean, standing tall and proud, and completely protected by outsiders. This building was known and feared by pirates everywhere as the Marines Headquarters. Although the World Government usually worked to stop criminal pirates and fight against corruption, part of the government itself was corrupt, and it was for this reason, nobles were able to get away with taxing their citizens unreasonably by means of corrupt bargaining.

A blue haired woman sat in her office, slamming her fists to the desk as she looks at the news. Another corrupt noble was brought to justice and it was all thanks to the pirates. This woman was introduced as Johanna, and she was the Fleet Admiral of the marines, the highest ranking marine, and the woman who ran this whole operation. The blue haired woman grits her teeth as she slams her fists on the desk in frustration.

"That damned Cyrus and his pirates!" She growls in frustration from looking at the news. "What the hell does the world government think they're doing? At this rate, those lousy cursed pirates will be making a good name for themselves and the revered reputation of the marines will plummet completely as we know it!" As the blue haired woman contemplates these thoughts, she scratches and pulls at her hair in frustration.

She then pauses as a young, blue haired woman, about the tender age of 18, knocks on the door and enters the room. She had long, beautiful blue hair and fierce blue eyes, the eyes of a true, loyal warrior. A black marine officer's coat was draped over her shoulders along with her standard marine officer uniform. A long, thin sword was strapped to her left belt, a gun to her right, and a Pokeball was strapped next to her gun. She wore a heart-shaped golden locket around her neck as well. Although she was very beautiful, she was stern and serious, and always stayed composed. The blue haired woman salutes to the fleet admiral as she makes her report.

"This is Captain Hikari, reporting for duty, madam!" The blue haired woman says as she salutes to the fleet admiral. "I have just returned to report that I have successfully captured and subdued the rogue pirates pillaging and taking over the nearby village. The blue haired woman pauses at this, and smiles dismissively at the blue haired woman.

"You don't have to be so formal when it's just you and me, Dawn dear…" Johanna says affectionately and in a motherly manner to the blue haired girl. "I may be the Fleet Admiral of the marines and you may be the 1st division Captain, but before anything, you are my daughter, and I am proud of you for serving the marines so loyally and so full of pride." The blue haired girl has her eyes soften as her mother says this and looks the other way.

"I-If… If that is what you wish…" The blue haired girl stutters quietly, unsure and not used to talking to her mother so formally and casually and relieved that she was given the chance to do so. Opportunities like this didn't come very often for her at all. "M-Mother…" The blue haired woman smiles and gets up from her seat, holding the blue haired girl close to her and stroking her hair gently and in a motherly manner. Despite serving the marines, despite all she had been through, despite her duties and loyalties, deep down inside, she was just a normal young girl. And while her tough, fierce demeanor made her seem unapproachable, she just needed time to break out of her shell, and her mother knew that more than anyone in the marines.

"Let me brush your hair, dear. You just went through a long, arduous journey out at sea after all. So just relax for a bit, and let your mother spoil you for just a little bit!" The blue haired woman says with a warm, kind smile. Dawn pauses at this, unsure how to act in this situation, unsure if it was alright for her to be selfish for once in her career. She then pauses as she silently nods her head. Johanna smiles as she has Dawn sit down on the couch while she takes out a comb and brushes the blue haired girl's long, silky blue hair. The two are silent for a bit as the blue haired woman continues to run the comb through her hair, before Dawn breaks the silence and starts speaking.

"I-I heard the news about the Galactic Pirates, mother." Dawn says to the blue haired woman. She then has her eyes shadowed and clenches her fists while gritting her teeth. "Those damned, cursed pirates doing whatever they please… They won't get away with this! I'll capture them if it's the last thing I do!" Johanna pauses a bit as Dawn says this as she finishes straightening out Dawn's hair with her comb and frowns a bit. She knew that the pirates were the enemy, but Dawn's hatred towards them stemmed from… something much deeper… The blue haired woman smiles as she takes a seat next to blue haired girl and closes her eyes as she pulls her closer to her tenderly and gently, holding her in a warm, caring embrace.

"I know it's frustrating, dear. But know that we haven't lost just yet!" The blue haired woman says caringly and gently to the blue haired girl. "We can think of a way to deal with them later… for now, I want you to rest…" She says softly. Dawn's eyes soften as she closes her eyes and rests against her chest, relaxing. There was nothing in the world that was better than a mother's encouraging words and her embrace resting her head on her shoulders… The blue haired girl felt at peace. Just her, and her caring, loving mother… She wished it would stay like this forever…

… Her wish wasn't granted however, as a brown haired Marine Officer comes in and salutes before making his report.

"L-Lady Hikari, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have ourselves a client!" The officer says meekly while saluting. "A noble from the Hearthome area wishes to pay us for escort services. He wishes to meet with us now." The blue haired girl has her eyes closed and sighs as the officer reports this. She then looks at her mother, who smiles and nods her head encouragingly. Although she wanted to spend more time with her daughter, duty had called.

"Go on, Captain Hikari…" Johanna says to the blue haired girl. "Make the marines proud!" Dawn pauses at this and has a small smile on her face as she nods her head, getting up as she salutes before leaving with the officer, bidding farewell to her mother. Johanna returns Dawn's salute before getting back to her desk and back to work, sorting through her piles of paper work.

"Alright, Kenny, give me a run-down of the client and the mission." Dawn says to the brown haired marine officer seriously with her arms crossed, her captain's coat flowing as they walk together to the destined area. Kenny meekly nods his head and takes out a sheet of paper filled with notes he had compiled.

"Yes, Miss Hikari!" The officer says as he looks through his notes. "Our client is noble who goes by the name of Conway Kohei. Our task is to escort his supply ship to Sunyshore Port. There's more to it than that, however… This man is a well-known slave trader…" Dawn's eyes widen at this and she turns to Kenny while outraged.

"A slave trader? I will NEVER help out a man like that!" She yells while outraged. "Cancel the request immediately and send this man behind bars! The Marines are a symbol of justice, we won't simply help fools who dabble themselves in crimes such as slavery. If anything, this man should be arrested!" Dawn snaps harshly and sternly. Kenny swallows hard and flinches a bit comically. It was times like these where Captain Hikari had scared him, when she was so stern and serious.

"Th-There's more to it than that, Miss Hikari." Kenny says timidly while swallowing a bit. "You see, this man is a government official. Should we deny his request, the reputation of the marines will plummet even further and this will put Fleet Admiral Johanna in a very tough spot. We can't afford to turn down this request." Dawn pauses at this and clenches her fists and grits her teeth with her eyes shadowed in frustration. She had no choice in the matter…

"Damn those government officials… What is the government thinking letting a corrupt man like him run loose?" Dawn mutters under her breath irritably. If there was one thing she hated just as much as pirates, it was those damned, corrupted government officials who abused their power. She then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before speaking again. "Prepare the ship. We might as well get this over with. I shall meet with our client personally. Is there anything else you would like to report?" Kenny nods his head, reading the last of his notes.

"Yes, there is a bonus objective! The Galactic Pirates have been suspected to be after this official themselves. The Galactic Pirates have a huge bounty on their heads. If we capture them, maybe we can restore the reputation of the marines!" Kenny says as he analyzes his notes. The young marine captain lights up as her officer says this and she narrows her eyes at this.

"Those blasted pirates…" Dawn mutters under her breath with her fists clenched tightly as she grits her teeth. "This time for sure, I'll be sure to put them behind bars…" Kenny pauses as Dawn says this and tips his head to one side curiously.

"I-If I may ask, Miss Hikari, why are the Galactic Pirates wanted criminals and why do you want to capture them so badly?" He asks curiously, tipping his head to one side. "They've done nothing but good for this country, and they gladly take out corrupt government officials without being asked. So how is it that instead of being recognized, they're shunned for their efforts?"

The blue haired woman has her eyes shadowed and stares at the floor silently while clutching the gold pendant around her neck tightly. As she does this, quick flashbacks flash by in her mind.

 _The first flash was of a younger version of her saluting and entering the 1_ _st_ _division office for the first time. At this point, she was still an officer, just like Kenny. She seemed different from the strict, fierce woman she was now. She was so pure, so innocent, and she always wore a bright, cheerful smile on her face, always staying hopeful and optimistic. The captain back then appeared to be a silhouetted man with spiky black hair and a warm smile as he pets her on the head affectionately, welcoming her with warm, open arms._

 _Several images of their time together pass by when the next image comes out more clearly. The silhouetted figure smiles as he goes down on one knee, and offers her a ring, proposing to her. Dawn simply gasps at this and smiles with a deep blush on her face, nodding her head with tears of joy falling from her eyes. The two embrace and share their first kiss with each other. Everything looked so happy, so pure… It all just seemed so perfect…_

… _But then in the last image, everything took a drastically darker tone. The image seemed to flash by so quickly. It was a dark, stormy night, they were at sea, and the blue haired woman was stranded on their ship alone. She was seen crying out to the spiky black haired silhouette desperately and helplessly reaching out for him while crying as their battered, almost destroyed ship drifts off into sea away from him as lightning crackles in the distance. She could only watch helplessly as they grew farther and farther apart. The last thing that was seen was a pirate ship, and its silhouetted captain smirking widely with its arms crossed._

As this image ends, Dawn still has her eyes shadowed and she clenches her fists. "You're still young and naïve, Officer Kenny…" The young marine captain says with her back still turned to the young officer in a soft, quiet voice. "Pirates are the scourge of the sea, regardless of their actions. Not only that, they're unpredictable, and that's what makes them dangerous…" Kenny raises his eyebrows at this and he opens his mouth to speak some more.

Before he could pry any further, however, the blue haired woman turns around with a stern, serious look on her face, her eyes sharp, stern and fierce. "Well? Are you going to ask questions all day or are you going to do your job and get started with our preparations?" She snaps fiercely and harshly at the young marine officer. "Now get to work!" She says as she points to the marine ship port harshly. The young, brown haired man has O-O eyes and salutes comically and meekly. He jumps a bit as the blue haired woman intimidates him and he scurries off to the port to get their ship and its crew ready. The blue haired woman sighs at this and rubs at her temples as her officer runs off before she turns around herself, meeting with her client.

The last scene shows a green haired man wearing glasses standing in front of a port. He had a wide, calculated smirk on his face as he tips his glasses creepily, a devious, plotting look on his face as he watches and stalks Captain Hikari from afar.

"Today is the day, Miss Hikari, where I make you my woman…" The green haired man says ominously and creepily with a devious smirk on his face as the chapter closes with his ominous chuckling as he fades into the darkness.

 **To be continued**

 **Woot! And there we go! That's the first chapter! It's a lot different from my usual stories, I know, but man, was it a lot of fun to write! XDXDXD Not much action in this chapter. This was meant to be more of a build-up chapter to introduce the characters and such. The real action begins next chapter! XDXDXD**

 **Cyrus: I'M GOOD! AND ACTUALLY LIKABLE! IT'S... IT'S A MIRACLE! –Sobs silently and comically with joy-**

 **Me: Yeah, yeah, I get it… -3-**

 **Dawn: Wow, I really like my character! It's definitely a different take from my usual, cheerful personality!**

 **Me: TENK YOU DAWN~! I LURVS YOU~! –Glomp tackles-**

 **Dawn: -Sweat drops- Yeah, I know…**

 **Barry: Hey, will Lukie and I be in this story?**

 **Me: Well, that's the thing… I'm not sure if you'll be in this story, and if you are, you'll be pretty minor characters… Sorry! ^^;;**

 **Barry: WHAT THE HELL? WHY AM I DENIED AN APPEARANCE IN SUCH AN AWESOME STORY~! I DEMAND YOU GIVE ME A FINE, I SAY, A FINE~!**

 **Lucas: Okay, that's enough Barry… Besides, I just had a major role in both the Silver Saga remastered and in Targeted. I could use a break. –Shrugs and drags Barry along as he continues ranting at me comically-**

 **-Sweat drops- Anyways, be sure to review, leave me your thoughts on what you think of this story. Also be sure to leave some constructive criticism. Also don't be flaming me ya land lubbers or I be making you walk the plank~! YAHAHAHAR~!**

 **And now, for something new I'll be doing with this story, I'll be doing previews of the next chapter! Here's the preview for next chapter and I'll just leave it at that! XD**

 _ **Next time on Land Ho: Captain Hikari has a not-so-pleasant first impression with her client and sets sail for Sunyshore Port. Meanwhile, the Galactic Pirates finally make their move. Two worlds collide, what will happen next? Next time on Land Ho, When Two Worlds Collide.**_

 **~Honou**


	2. When Two Worlds Collide

**Disclaimer: Yaaaar, I do not own Pokemon, mateys~! :DD Okay, enough with the pirate talk, I gotta stop… =.=;;**

 **And here we are with Chapter 2! Finally we get to see some action! XD And trust me when I say this, it only gets better from here! I'm super excited to bring this series to you guys, so y'all better enjoy it! I worked hard, dammit! D:**

 **So, I actually just realized, this is my first Pearlshipping story… o-o;; I mean, I know it's Ikari vs Pearl, but still. Well there's a first for anything and I'm trying a lot of things differently for this story, so… yeaaaaaah… XD**

 **Anyways, another thing, I have a poll posted on my page and you guys can decide for yourselves which ship you want to win in the end XD. You can only vote once! No cheating! D: I'm pretty sure the poll won't matter in the end knowing how I am, but I just want to see everyone's opinions :]]**

 **Oh, and one more thing… This story will most likely be pushed to an M rating… I'm considering lemons for this story… Later on, but still. Well, it's not gonna be for a while, so all you younger viewers are safe for now! XD But this is just a fair warning. XD**

 **Anywho, I've talked enough. Enjoy the chapter! :DD**

 **Chapter 2: When Two Worlds Collide**

Back with Captain Hikari, the young marine captain was waiting in the destined meeting area for her client to arrive. It was only a matter of time before he got here. The blue haired woman taps her foot impatiently and looks at her watch. She wanted to get this job done as quickly as possible. Finally, a green haired man wearing glasses and dressed in a fancy noble's suit arrives to the scene, tipping his glasses. Captain Hikari goes up to the man, her eyes narrowed as she greets the green haired man, offering to shake his hand.

"So, you must be Conway Kohei, am I correct?" Dawn asks in a stern serious voice as she offers him a handshake. "I am Captain Hikari, the 1st division captain of the Marines and I shall be your escort this evening." The blue haired woman still did not like the idea of helping a slave trader, but she had to bear with it for the sake of the mission. As she says this, the green haired man tips his glasses and takes Dawn's hand, shaking her hand and introducing him.

"The pleasure is all mine, Captain Hikari…" The green haired noble says with a sly, suspicious and sleazy look on his face as he takes Dawn's hand as his glasses glint ominously and creepily. The green haired man tips his glasses as he scans the marine captain's goods. He started eyeing her long slender legs, her well-developed chest, that curvaceous body of hers… and her eyes… her beautiful, yet determined blue eyes… He eyed all of them with a sleazy look on his face while drooling a bit, and just from looking at her, he knew that he wanted her to be his possession. "Oh… It's all mine…" He says while shaking Dawn's hand, not letting go as he does so, squeezing her hand tightly. The blue haired woman narrows her eyes suspiciously and pulls her hand away from Conway's before turning around and heading back to their ship.

"Let us make haste, noble…" Dawn says in a fierce, yet focused voice, disgusted by the way Conway was looking at her. "Our ship will be ready by the time we get there, so I trust you can be on your best behavior during this voyage." Conway grins while eyeing at Dawn's perfectly round ass and drools some more at how alluring and beautiful the marine captain was.

"But of course, Captain…" He says with a creepy, yet sleazy look on his face as he tips his glasses. The green haired man then slaps Dawn's ass from behind and grips at her buttcheeks. "I'll be on my 'best' behavior… I always am…" He says slyly and in a perverted, scumbag manner, giving her a sleazy grin as he grips her butt firmly. The marine captain jumps a bit as he slaps her from behind with her eyes widened. She then turns around fiercely with her eyes shadowed, holding back her fury as she slaps the man hard across the face, leaving a dark red slap mark on his face. She most likely would've and could've done so much more than just a simple slap to the face, but they were on a mission, and she couldn't afford to lose her composure.

"Now listen here, _slave trader_!And listen closely!" Dawn says fiercely, her words dripping with venom as she looks up and glares him in the eyes viciously, putting extra emphasis on the words, 'slave trader', just showing how much she despised the man and what he does for a living. She points her finger to his chest, her eyes narrowed viciously at the green haired man. "You may think that this is all just a game, you may think that you can do whatever you please, just because you're a government official. But you're aboard MY ship, and must follow MY rules! And behavior like this is intolerable! So I would lay off if I were you or so be it, I will throw you off my ship and leave you behind!" As the blue haired woman says this, she then turns around and rubs at her temples in frustration before heading back to her ship, not even bothering to see if Conway was following her.

The green haired man simply smirks as the blue haired woman walks away and rubs at the slap mark across his face. "So strong-willed… So determined…" The green haired man muses to himself with a chuckle. "Just the way I like them…" As the green haired man says these words ominously, he follows after the blue haired woman, making his way to their ship.

Back with Dawn, the blue haired woman makes her way back to the ship and had just arrived. Kenny salutes at the blue haired woman. Preparations had been completed right on time, they were ready to depart!

"We're ready to leave, Lady Hikari!" Kenny says as he salutes meekly to the blue haired woman as she arrives with Conway following close behind. "Just give us the word and we shall depart for Sunyshore Port!" The blue haired woman nods her head with her arms crossed, her captain's coat flowing behind her.

"Good work, Kenny. "The blue haired woman says to her officer. "We depart now! Get the men ready and let us get on board!" Kenny salutes and nods his head as they board the ship with Conway on tow, following close behind. Their ship finally leaves the Marine Headquarter's station and the ship sets sail to Sunyshore City.

… Little did they know, a Staraptor was soaring the skies, watching as the marines made their leave. The hawk Pokemon nods its head as it spots the target and makes its way back to its trainer to report what it had seen.

Back aboard with the Galactic Pirates, Reiji was in the kitchen, preparing something to eat for the crew when suddenly, his Staraptor drops by the window, pecking at his window and bringing news for its trainer. The purple haired man opens the window and has the hawk Pokemon perch on his shoulders with a smile on his face.

"Well done, Staraptor." The purple haired man says to its Pokemon with a smile, returning it back to its ball. "You deserve a long rest." He then turns to report his findings to their captain, heading over to his room.

Reiji knocks on the door to the captain's room. From inside the room, a loud groan could be heard. Reiji sweat drops and rubs at his temples and opens the door to see Cyrus sprawled on the floor, groaning from his hangover.

"Why is the rum gone~?!" The light blue haired captain groans in a comical, slurring voice, clutching his forehead as it aches with a severe headache. His cheeks were still red, showing that he was still a bit tipsy from all the liquor he had consumed during their celebration. Reiji sighs at this and sweat drops as he helps the man back up on his two feet.

"C'mon, captain, up and at em." Reiji says as he helps the light blue haired man get up. "This is what happens when you drink so much. Pull yourself together! Our next target, Conway Kohei has just departed from Marine Headquarters! If we make haste now, we can catch up to them!" The captain perks up at this and gets up, no longer idly standing around as he makes action.

"Then there's no time to waste~!" Cyrus says as he puts on his captain's cloak. "Let us notify the others and make our move~!" He says as he scrambles to his crew with awkward, fumbling movements. As he moves, however, he comically winds up tripping and falling and his eyes widen comically. It seemed that the silly light blue haired captain was still recovering from his hangover. "… I'm alright…" He says comically with his face flat on the floor. Reiji sighs at this and shakes his head as he follows the light blue haired man closely behind.

Outside the main deck of their pirate ship, Saturn was tending to the ship, Jupiter was looking at the map, looking at which direction they should be headed, and Mars was mashing some herbs in preparation for some medicine to be made later on. Paul was lying down on the deck, staring up at the sky leisurely and finding himself taking a nap from the cool, crisp ocean breeze blowing into his face. All of the sudden, Cyrus comes by and has a wide grin on his face, appearing with Reiji.

"We've got a job to do, everyone~!" Cyrus says with a wide, goofy grin on his face. "Reiji's Staraptor has spotted the marines with our next target~! Full speed ahead! We're gonna intercept those marines and bring that corrupt slave trader down for good!" Cyrus says with a wide grin on his face. Saturn nods his head as Cyrus says this and mans the ship. Paul gets up and climbs the roost as he scouts and gets a bird's eye view, letting his crew know when the marines were spotted. Mars and Jupiter stood on standby, with Mars getting med-packs ready to tend to the wounded while Jupiter stands by Saturn, navigating for the blue haired man. Everyone was getting ready for the inevitable battle that was happening, but they were prepared…

Back with Dawn and the marines, things were quiet… too quiet. Dawn narrows her eyes as she looks around. So far there was no sign of the Galactic Pirates or any pirates for that matter. Things were going smoothly so far, but it was going a bit too smoothly for her liking. They were already two hours in on their voyage and there was still no sign of the Galactic Pirates or any pirate activity for that matter. To make matters worse, they had just entered area covered with a think, dense fog. A surprise attack would definitely take them off-guard here. The blue haired woman usually trusted her instincts and her instincts told her that something was definitely wrong here.

"Something isn't right here…" Dawn mutters to her crew as she grips her Empoleon's Pokeball. "Keep battle stations at the ready, something feels off around here." As the blue haired woman says this, Conway gives the blue haired woman a cocky, scheming smirk with his arms crossed as he sits back and watches the woman commandeer her crew and her ship.

"Aren't you being a bit too paranoid here, captain?" He says with a sneer in a snarky manner while smirking at her creepily. "It's obvious at this point in the voyage the pirates aren't coming, so there's no need to be so tense~! In fact, why don't I do you a favor and help you calm those nerves of yours myself~?!" The blue haired woman narrows her eyes at the green haired man venomously and in an intimidating manner. She knew what his intentions were all too well, and she wasn't about to give him what he wanted.

"You watch your tongue, _slave trader_!" The blue haired young captain says fiercely to her client threateningly, once again putting emphasis on the fact that he was a slave trader and letting him know just how much she had despised him and everything he worked for. "Know your place and sit back like the government swine you are. We're perfectly capable of taking care of the rest ourselves, so you just butt out of our business. The sooner I'm done with you the better…" She then turns back around with her arms crossed, staying focused and determined. Conway simply smirks arrogantly at how fierce and intimidating the blue haired woman was and simply shrugs as he goes silent with his eyes closed, amused to see her reaction should she be proven wrong. He decides to lie in wait for another opportunity to make a move. After all, he had all the time in the world…

"I hate to say this, but maybe he's right, Captain Hikari." Kenny says meekly to his blue haired captain as he appears by her side. "It's been 2 hours since the start of our voyage and we have yet to encounter any pirates. Maybe they aren't-" Dawn interrupts the brown haired officer and holds out her hand with her eyes narrowed.

"Shhh…" She says, shushing the brown haired officer seriously. There was silence, but very faintly, the sound of something creeping behind them slowly could be heard. The blue haired woman has her eyes narrowed. Her instincts were right. "We're being followed… Bring someone here who has access to Defog…" Kenny nods his head and turns to the rest of the crew. One of the marines sends out a Wingull and the other sends out a Pelliper and the two Pokemon flap their wings, blowing away the dense fog. As the fog is cleared, a large black pirate ship is revealed, following them from behind. It was the Galactic Pirates!

"Well, ya caught us~! Congratulations, marine captain, you earned yourself a gold medal for perceptiveness~!" Cyrus says jokingly with his arms crossed and a wide grin on his face. He then points to the marine's ship, signaling the commencement of their assault. "Everyone, attack~! Board their ship and bring the slave trader to me, dead or alive. Do not attack to kill the marines however! We want the marines to emerge unharmed from all this!" As he says this, Paul, Saturn and the rest of the Galactic Pirates fire their hook shots and board onto the marine's ship, looking to raid it. Cyrus' demands were easier said than done with how tough and tenacious the marines were, but the last thing they wanted was to declare war with the marines by killing their soldiers in cold blood, and so, they held back as best as they could. Dawn clenches her fist and grits her teeth as she turns to her crew, who were taken by surprise and most likely, their morale was dropping from this sudden attack.

"Blasted pirates… Battle stations everyone, quickly! They may have seized the initiative with a surprise attack, but we have numbers! Use that to your advantage!" Dawn says to her crew boldly with her voice filled with courage. These words were enough to rally her comrades to get ready for battle. "Protect the client no matter the cost! Kenny, you stay with the slave trader. I'll keep you covered!" Kenny nods his head and escorts the green haired man to a safe place within the ship. The green haired man scowls a bit, as he would have preferred to have been left alone with Dawn, but complies as he follows after him.

Dawn has her eyes narrowed fiercely as she sends out her Empoleon and looks ready for battle along with the rest of her marines. She comes face to face with Paul and his Electivire. Her eyes narrow as she draws her sword from her belt and clashes blades with the purple haired young man. At the same time, her Empoleon clashes with Electivire, butting heads with each other and locked together fiercely in combat, the two evenly matched.

"You damned pirate! Don't think you'll get out of here alive this time. I'm arresting you and your crew once and for all!" The blue haired woman says to the purple haired man menacingly and viciously. Paul simply smirks at the blue haired woman, the two of them were inches apart, and the purple haired young man could easily steal a kiss from the blue haired marine captain if he really wanted to.

"Bold words, hot stuff, let's see if you can back them up~!" He says with a cocky, flirtatious, and womanizing smirk on his face as he parries a vicious blow from Dawn's blade. He then sighs comically while shrugging. "Hm, what a shame… You're so angry and serious all the time… If you relaxed just a little bit, you would be quite the cutie!" He says with a smirk in a flirtatious, arrogant manner. Dawn narrows her eyes as she lunges forward to unleash another flurry of slashes.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, pirate!" Dawn snaps in a cold, venomous manner, her eyes calculated and menacing. "I am the captain of the 1st division marines, and daughter to Fleet Admiral Johanna! I am NOT to be trifled with and I will NOT have a mockery be made of me! Empoleon, Hydro Pump!" Dawn says to her Pokemon. The large, regal penguin Pokemon complies as it pushes Electivire away from it and fires a huge torrent of water towards both Paul and Electivire.

"Electivire, Protect!" Paul says as his Pokemon summons a large green barrier to protect himself from Empoleon's attack. Meanwhile, as the two continue to battle, Cyrus suddenly pauses a bit at what Dawn had said earlier and his face lightens a bit at what she had said.

"D-Did she say… Johanna…?" Cyrus mutters under his breath softly with his arms crossed and his eyes softened. His thoughts are suddenly interrupted as a loud, menacing roar from underneath the water is heard. His eyes widen as he realizes what was going on and turns to his crew urgently. "Everyone, retreat! The wild Gyarados are awakening! Forget about the target! We'll come back for him later! Everyone move NOW!" He roars to his crew members. Saturn, Jupiter and Mars nod their heads as they overhear Cyrus' words and make their way back to the ship. Paul smirks at Dawn and winks at her, making his leave.

"I'd love to stay and chat, troublesome, have a cup of tea. Y'know, maybe take you out on a hot date or something like that. But that's my boss calling…" He says with a wide, cocky, and flirtatious smirk. "Try not to get turned into Gyarados chowder~! Toodles~!" He says as he gives her a flirtatious wink, but before he could hook shot his way back to the ship, Dawn has her eyes shadowed as she pulls out her gun and fires a single bullet at the rope of the hook shot accurately, severing the ropes and leaving Paul stranded on her ship. He had no way back now…

"You're not going ANYWHERE, pirate…" Dawn says with her eyes narrowed in a low, cold voice, a deadly, venomous glare on her face. "We're settling this score once and for all!" Paul scowls at this and narrows his eyes, seeing he had no choice but to stay and fight. Why did she have to be so stubborn? He faces the blue haired woman face to face, despite hearing Cyrus' shouts of concern towards him and the rest of his crew watching with eyes widened. Even if he knew the Gyarados were coming, he had no choice.

… Suddenly, a swarm of Gyarados emerge from the water. They looked angry, and it seemed the battle had disturbed them from their slumber. The rest of the marines manage to evacuate in their emergency life boats along with Conway, but Dawn and Paul were left stranded. Kenny is shown shouting to Dawn, urging her to just leave Paul and to get on their ship, but the woman was simply too stubborn. Her pride wouldn't allow it! Cyrus has his eyes shadowed and grits his teeth as he sounds the retreat the Galactic Pirates moving as far away as possible.

Dawn and Paul look up with their eyes widened as everything else that had happened just seemed to move in slow motion as all the Gyarados at once charge their Hyper Beams in their mouth and fire at the same time. Even combining their Pokemon's strengths, Dawn and Paul knew they wouldn't be able to stop that much firepower, and with that, the navy ship is blown to smithereens with a powerful explosion as everything seemed to fade to darkness…

… Moments later, a purple haired figure is shown dragging himself out of the water, haven landed on a nearby island. He carries a limp, unconscious blue haired woman around his arms, barely able to drag her out of the water along with him using the last of his strength. She was the enemy. He should have left her behind to drown… He definitely could have…

… But for some reason…

… He just couldn't…

The purple haired man sprawls himself on the shore of the beach and breathes tiredly with deep, labored breaths as he looks at the unconscious blue haired woman next to him.

"… Damn… troublesome… woman…" He mutters each word under his breath hoarsely and weakly before he closes his eyes to rest for a just a split moment, the two of them left on the shore of a distant island, stranded… and alone… Their Pokemon weren't there to help them, and their crew was nowhere to be seen… Just like that, sworn enemies were forced into a desperate situation where they would have to put their differences aside and cooperate with each other…

… But one question stands…

… Will they be able to…?

… Or will they simply be the end of each other…?

… **To be continued…**

 **And with that, the first arc of this story will be starting next chapter! That's right, this story will have arcs. Not just one or to arcs also! This story will be going on for quite a long time I imagine and I'll be working on this story for a long time. I think that maybe this story will probably have more chapters than Targeted and Cipher's Revenge. I have a lot of content to cover with this story after all, so 12 chapters just won't be enough to do it justice.**

 **A little bit more of Paul's character has been revealed this chapter. I thought it would be extra funny if he was flirty, witty and smooth-talking womanizer with Dawn. It certainly made his character a lot more fun to write, and you'll definitely see more of his womanizing ways later on. XD**

 **Anyways, yeah, there wasn't much shippiness in this chapter, just a lot of action and build-up. Even then, there are still so many questions left unanswered. But for now, rejoice shippers, for next chapter will have plenty of shipping! In fact, I have the preview for you right now! XD**

 _ **Preview: With Captain Hikari and Paul stranded on the island alone, the two of them must cooperate with each other if they are to survive. Will they be able to survive until help arrives? And finally, the tragedy behind young Captain Hikari's dark past… is finally revealed? Next time on Land Ho, Revelation.**_

 **OH SNAP! IT'S HAPPENING! Ya wanna see what happened in Dawn's past? Well, ya gotta stay tuned and see, that's what! Also be sure to review and I'll be sure to pump these puppies out as fast as I can. Ah, well, I still have Silver Bonds to finish, but I can do that anytime, right?! I'm having too much fun with this story! XD Anyways, like I said, be sure to review, criticize me if you can to help me improve, and don't leave any flames, alright? Dawn hates flames, isn't that right Dawn?**

 **Dawn: Uh… yeah… I guess…?**

 **Me: -Pauses- YUR SHO CUTE~! I CAN'T HANDLE HOW CUTE YOU ARE~! –Glomps affectionately-**

 **Dawn: -sighs- Why am I not surprised…?**

 **~Honou**


	3. Revelation

**Disclaimer: I dun own Pokemon. Pokemon owns me! Wait, didn't I say this before…? I could've sworn I said this before o-o;;**

 **Here we are with chapter 3! XD We finally get to delve into Dawn's past! XD Pretty excited to bring you this chappy, not gonna lie. You guys are gonna get a little hints of Ikarihipping here and there. And a LOT of Pearlshipping as well, so shippers rejoice! Nothing else to really say here, so let's not beat around the bush! Enjoy! XD**

 **Chapter 3: Revelation**

Moments later upon being stranded out into the island, Dawn's eyes open as she sits up straight as she regains consciousness from their last encounter. As she wakes up, she sees herself lying down on a bed of leaves. She then winces as she clutches her left ribs, which was injured during the incident at sea and sees that she was bandaged. Her shirt was removed and her chest was covered in bandages. Her head was pounding severely and her body was aching. She looks around, wondering where she was and sees that she was brought to a cave, sheltering her for the time being.

"Ugh… where am I…?" The blue haired woman wonders to herself as she struggles to get out of bed. As she gets up, she sees a familiar purple haired man. Her eyes narrow and she brings herself into a fighting stance, looking ready to defend her. "You…" She growls, reaching for Empoleon's Pokeball, only to see that it was nowhere to be found. Her eyes than narrow as she sees that with no Pokemon and her weapons lost, she would have to improvise and lunges to subdue the purple haired man to engage in hand-to-hand combat. However, as she tries to bring the man down, he simply catches her fist and pokes at her ribs. The blue haired woman has her eyes widen and cringes as she crumples to the floor comically, clutching her injured ribs with tears forming at her eyes.

"Relax, troublesome, I'm not here to fight. In fact, I saved your life and brought you all the way here to keep you sheltered and tended to your injuries. You're a lot heavier than you look by the way." He says bluntly and comically with a smirk on his face. "From the look of things it's just you and me here alone on this island. We have no Pokemon and food is scarce. If we're to survive here, we have to work with each other. Heh, I bet you know what that means~!" The blue haired woman narrows her eyes at him while still clutching her ribs as he gives her a cocky, flirtatious smirk. The nerve of this guy! This was why she despised pirates.

"For your information, my name is Dawn Hikari! I will not be looked down on by you of all people, so get my name right at the very least!" The blue haired woman growls fiercely. "I will NEVER work with the likes of you, pirate! NEVER! If I'm to survive, I shall do it on my own!" Paul simply smirks at this with his arms crossed at her and simply shrugs as she says these words. Stubborn and prideful as ever, just the way he liked it.

"With those injuries? Good luck." Paul says with his arms crossed while smirking. "Need I remind you that you're the reason why we're stuck in this predicament in the first place?" Dawn pauses and flinches a bit as the purple haired man says this and hangs her head shamefully, knowing that he had a point there. If it wasn't for that pride of hers, they would still be out at sea.

"I-I guess you have a point… I guess I have no choice but to cooperate with you… But don't get full of yourself! This is a one-time thing only!" She says sincerely and apologetically, but at the same time, retaining that strong, prideful demeanor of hers. "A-And I can't believe I'm saying this… b-but… th-thank you… You saved my life out there…" She mumbles these last few words a bit quietly and looks the other way timidly so he couldn't see the look on his face. Paul smiles at this with his arms crossed knowingly. Not an arrogant, flirtatious smirk, but a genuine, caring smile. Now if only she could show off this side of hers more often. He pets her on the head and helps her up to get her back on her bed and lies her down.

"That's more like it. Now get some rest! Your injuries are still quite severe. I wouldn't move around for a while if I were you. Leave everything to me." The purple haired man says to the blue haired woman gently. Dawn has a small smile as he says this and nods her head as she closes her eyes. She felt reassured and at peace, but something was missing. Her eyes then shoot open as she gets up with her eyes opened wide.

"My coat! Where's my coat!" The blue haired woman exclaims urgently and in a panicked manner as she looks around frantically. Paul turns around as she looks around for her coat and calms her down, his hands on her shoulder as he hands her black captain's coat, which was now neatly folded and places it in her arms.

"Calm down, it's okay…" Paul says reassuringly. "Our clothes were wet, and I didn't want you catching a cold, so I let them out to dry. You were unconscious at the time, so I had to… y'know… remove your clothes myself…" He mutters while looking the other way sheepishly while a bit red in the cheeks as he scratches the back of his head. Dawn has a small smile on her face as she holds her coat close, hugging it with her eyes closed.

"… Thank you…" She says softly and relieved. Paul smiles as she says this. This was a different side to her he had never seen before. Underneath that cold, fierce demeanor, he could've sworn she looked like a normal human woman. This all changes as the blue haired woman looks up with a dangerous look on her face. "You didn't do anything suspicious to me while I was unconscious, did you?" She asks in a dangerous, threatening tone, realizing that he had to remove her clothes to bandage her body and hang her clothes to dry.

"I didn't do anything suspicious to you, I swear!" Paul exclaims honestly with his eyes wide while flailing his arms. "I mean, sure I had to touch you because I needed to bandage your body. But I didn't see you naked at all! I kept my eyes closed as I was bandaging you, I swear!" Dawn giggles a bit at this and smiles a bit. Paul pauses and grows a bit red in the cheeks while looking away. This was the first time he had heard the woman laugh or smile.

"Relax, I'm just teasing you!" Dawn says while smiling at the purple haired man. "You've already done so much for me, and I'm grateful for everything you've done. I never got to hear your name, so let's start over. My name is Dawn Hikari. I am the 1st division captain of the Marines and Fleet Admiral Johanna's daughter!" The blue haired woman says while offering to shake hands. Paul smiles a bit at this and sees that the blue haired woman was starting to open up to him just a little bit as he takes her hand and shakes it.

"My name is Paul Shinji. I'm the second mate of the Galactic Pirates." He says as he shakes Dawn's hand, the two of them looking each other in the eyes for a split moment, not letting go of their hands, before Paul finally pulls away. "Well, I'm going to go hunt for something to eat. You stay here and rest up, alright? I'll be back in just a little bit." He says as he waves at the blue haired woman. Dawn nods her head and lies down while still hugging her coat in her arms. She then pulls out the gold heart-shaped locket around her neck and opens it up, revealing a picture of her when she was younger, and standing alongside a spiky black haired man with zig zag cheeks and warm, brown eyes and was wearing a black captain's coat. He was quite handsome and the two of them looked so happy, smiling brightly and innocently.

"Maybe I was wrong all this time. Maybe not all pirates are as bad as I thought they were!" Dawn says to herself quietly with a small smile on her face. "Isn't that right, Ash…?" As she says this she closes the locket and closes her eyes, drifting off into a blissful sleep as she starts dreaming and recollecting her deep, dark past.

" _It all happened two years ago, when I had just gotten out of training with the marines and was assigned to a marine division." Dawn narrates. "I was young, naïve and innocent back then, always cheerful, and always optimistic. Apparently, I was also the dream girl of many of the marine trainees, but they seemed to only be after me because I was the Fleet Admiral's daughter. It was then where I met someone who would change my life forever…"_

The scene shows a young, 16 year old Dawn walking down the hallway and entering the first year division marine's office for the very first time. She had a bright, cheerful and hopeful smile on her face as she presents herself and salutes. She was nothing like the fierce, strong and determined woman she was today.

"Dawn Hikari, reporting for duty for the very first time!" Dawn says cheerfully and brightly with a wide, innocent smile on her face. This was exciting for her! Her first real day on the job! As the blue haired girl says this, a black haired man wearing a black captain's coat and a Pikachu perched on his shoulder gets up from his seat and goes up to her, welcoming her with open arms as he pets her on the head warmly and gently.

"Welcome to the 1st division, Officer Hikari!" The black haired man says while smiling at her warmly as he pets her on the head. "My name is Ash Ketchum and this is my partner, Pikachu! I will be your captain starting today! I look forward to working with you, officer! Come with me, I'll show you around!" He was a handsome young man, 18 years of age with spiky black hair and warm brown eyes. He had zig zag cheeks and his black captain's coat flows behind him gracefully. Dawn smiles brightly and cheerfully as she salutes and nods her head.

" _Ash was different from the others… He showed me kindness and treated me like an equal. Even if I was female, even if I was the Fleet Admiral's daughter, even if he was ranked higher than me, he treated me like how he would treat others. And it was this aspect about him which I really admired." Dawn continues to narrate. "I still remember our first high five as if it was a vivid memory… I'll never forget that moment…"_

A few weeks in on the job, Dawn and her Piplup had already subdued a petty purse thief. The crook has swirly eyes along with his Liepard and Ash goes up to the blue haired girl with a smile on his face, congratulating the blue haired girl.

"Great job, Dawn! You did it!" Ash says with a warm, wide grin on his face as he holds up his hand for a high five. Dawn smiles at this and returns Ash's high five. The moment their hands made contact with each other for the first time was one she would never forget.

"I never would've been able to do it without you supporting me, Captain!" Dawn says with a cheerful smile and a slight blush on her cheeks as they high five each other. Ash smiles at Dawn and pets her on the head affectionately, stroking her head before growing a bit red in the cheeks. Suddenly Ash's stomach growls comically and loudly from a long day of work and he grows red in the cheeks at this sheepishly and looks the other way.

"W-Why don't we go get something to eat as celebration…?" Ash asks while a bit red in the face and scratching at his cheeks. "M-My treat…" Dawn blushes deeply in the cheeks as Ash asks this question, realizing that he was asking her out on a date. The blue haired girl nods her head quietly at this while a bit flustered by this thought. Ash is also slightly red in the cheeks and scratches the back of his head as the two of them hold hands to get lunch together.

In present time, Dawn was still sleeping, a warm smile on her face as she remembers these fond memories, holding them tenderly in her heart. Paul drops by to check on the blue haired woman and he can't help but bring himself to smile. She looked as if she was having pleasant, sweet dreams, and leaves her in peace for now. She didn't look anything like the woman he knew, that strong-willed determined woman from when they had encountered each other earlier. She looked… normal, happy… She was… beautiful… Paul finds himself growing red in the cheeks at this and turns away, shaking his head. He wouldn't let himself fall for this woman… he couldn't…

" _It wasn't until a couple weeks in working under Ash where I discovered that I was starting to grow feelings for the man…" Dawn continues to narrate. "And it wasn't long when those feelings of mine… became love…"_

The next scene shows Dawn, now 17 years old, standing in front of the harbor and looking out into the sea. She's then joined by Ash, who smiles warmly at her and wraps his arms around her shoulders comfortingly.

"The sea is beautiful, isn't it?" Ash asks with a friendly, warm smile on his face. Dawn blushes as Ash asks this question, seeing how close together they were and looks away from the black haired man. Ash simply turns his head to the blue haired girl and smiles warmly, tipping his head to one side. "Is something on your mind, Dawn?" The blue haired girl blushes deeply in the cheeks as he asks her this question, the breeze blowing through her soft, silky, ocean blue hair. Finally, the young girl gathers the courage to speak.

"A-Ash, there's something I need to tell you…" The blue haired girl says softly with a deep blush on her cheeks as she twiddles her fingers shyly. "I-I know we've only known each other for a year, b-but… I-I think… I-I love you…" Ash grows red in the cheeks and his eyes widen as she makes this confession. He then smiles warmly and pulls the blue haired girl close to him affectionately.

"Dawn, I love you too…" He says kindly and warmly. "And not as just a friend, or how I would a little sister, but every moment we've shared, ever since we've first met in that office a year ago, I felt something special… Will-Will you be my girlfriend and go out with me?" As Ash asks this question, Dawn smiles with tears of joy rolling down her eyes as she quietly nods her head, overjoyed and filled with relief as Ash returned these feelings she had harbored for him for so long.

"… Yes, of course I will…" She says softly. Ash smiles warmly from hearing these words as he leans in to kiss the blue haired girl tenderly on the lips. Dawn closes her eyes as she leans in to return the kiss. But then, both of them open their eyes and pause as their lips are just inches from making contact. The two of them grow completely beet red in the cheeks as the both of them stare at each other directly in the eyes for a split second, realizing just how close they were. The two of them then look the other way, flustered as the both of them blush furiously in the cheeks. Their love was so pure, so innocent… They didn't want to rush things and they didn't even have the courage to even kiss each other on the lips just yet. Finally, Ash looks the other way while still red in the cheeks, and decides to settle with wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her close to him, holding her tenderly as the two of them look out into the sea together.

" _It wasn't long before rumors of us dating started to spread throughout the headquarters." Dawn continues to narrate. "It was then and there where Ash and I decided to make the whole thing official, and tell my mother, Johanna… And I was actually surprised! She took the news way better than I had expected!"_

"You're WHAT NOW?!" Johanna explains with her eyes widened, haven comically spit the coffee she was drinking earlier as the news was brought to her. Ash and Dawn cringe at Johanna's sudden outburst and sweat drop.

"M-Mom, calm down." Dawn says while sweat dropping at her mother, who seemed to be panicking from hearing the sudden news. Ash then suddenly jumps in, standing in front of Dawn protectively with a determined look in his eyes.

"I'll take full responsibility for your daughter, Madam Hikari!" Ash says to the fleet admiral with determined eyes. "I love your daughter, and I promise to love and cherish her no matter what. I will protect her! I will stand by her side! So please, give us a chan-" The black haired man is then interrupted as the blue haired woman smiles and holds her hand up dismissively.

"I was wondering when you two would finally get together!" Johanna says with a warm smile on her face. Ash and Dawn's eyes widen at this comically as the blue haired woman says this. She knew all this time?! She then closes her eyes and gets up as she looks out the window with a smile on her face. "I knew that it was only a matter of time before you found someone you loved, Dawn. You're becoming that age, after all. I was around your age… when I found my special someone…" As she says this, she looks tenderly at a photo on her desk, of her when she was younger together with a silhouetted, cut out figure of a man with light blue hair before closing her eyes and continuing.

"I didn't want to accept it at first, I didn't want to accept that my precious little baby girl was already growing before my very eyes, but I knew that it was inevitable and that it was only a matter of time before you found your special someone… I just didn't think it would be so soon!" Johanna continues with her eyes closed. She then turns to Ash and Dawn and smiles warmly at them. "You have my approval! I will allow you to continue dating with each other…" Ash and Dawn jump as she says this and the two of them leap into each other's arms, embracing each other and hugging each other and then giving each other a high five. Johanna smiles at this and then closes her eyes as she continues. "… As long as you don't have children before you're married…" The two of them grow completely red in the cheeks at this and Dawn becomes completely flustered at what her mother was insinuating.

"MOM! Ash and I haven't even kissed yet, geez!" Dawn exclaims while completely flustered and a deep red in the cheeks. Johanna simply laughs at this with tears of joy falling from her eyes. She was genuinely happy for her daughter. The blue haired girl puffs her cheeks and fumes adorably with her arms crossed in a pout. Ash smiles at the two of them as they bicker and talk with each other, but then the thought of the two of them having children sometime in the future crosses his mind and he grows completely red in the cheeks as steam erupts from the top of his head. These thoughts were just too much for the pure-hearted young man to handle and soon after, he completely collapses with swirly eyes. Dawn's eyes widen at this comically as she runs to her boyfriend's side.

"Ah, Ash, snap out of it! Wake up!" She exclaims in a frantic manner. "Mom, go get some cold water to cool his head, quickly! I think you broke him!" Johanna comically nods her head knowingly with a chuckle as she rushes to the restroom sink to get a cold towel of water as the two of them tend to the black haired man.

" _It was moments like that one which I just loved and cherished." Dawn says while continuing her narration. "The moments we held hands, the moments where he would tease me about how I cared for my hair and obliviously saw no difference, the moments where I yelled at him for not noticing, the moments we would bicker over nothing and have an argument, the moments we would do everything we could to try and make up, the moments where we would cuddle and hold one another. And finally, the moments where we would high five… They were all so beautiful, so perfect… I loved and cherished every minute I spent with this man. And it was at my 18_ _th_ _birthday, where we finally took our relationship to the next big step! At the same time, it was the day before probably the biggest mission of our career! …And probably would be the last time we would get to hold hands…"_

"Happy birthday, dear!" Johanna says with a bright smile on her face. "Today is the day you become a woman! I'm so proud of how much you've grown from that young, inexperienced, yet aspiring young officer you were two years ago. I hereby promote you to Commander! You're now one rank lower than Ash and now you'll be able to spend some more time with him during missions! I also bought you a new gun and a new sword to commemorate the moment!" Dawn smiles brightly as her mother says this and the two of them hug each other affectionately.

"Mom, thank you so much!" Dawn says brightly and cheerfully. "Tomorrow is a big day, I'll be sure to put these to good use!" She says as she takes her new sword and gun and tucks them away someplace safe. Johanna smiles as Dawn says this, she then looks at Ash knowingly and urges him forward with a nudge.

"Don't you have something you want to say to my daughter?" She asks knowingly with a chuckle and a smile on her face as she gives him a light push of encouragement. "Good luck~!" Ash grows red in the cheeks and nods his head as he scratches his cheeks sheepishly. He then goes up to Dawn and takes her hand.

"Dawn, I need to talk to you about something privately." Ash says while red in the cheeks. He wanted them to be alone for this matter. Dawn tips her head to one side, wondering where they were going, but follows along with him.

Moments later, the two of them were in front of the same harbor, where they had confessed their love for each other. Dawn looks out into the sea and her eyes soften. It was sunset, and tomorrow was the big day… She knew what this meant…

"We head off for probably our biggest mission yet tomorrow, don't we…?" Dawn says softly, showing visible concern. "The Blackhand Pirates are probably the most notorious and infamous pirates known to sail the seas… and we have to take them down…" Ash then smiles as he wraps his arms around her neck and places something over her neck. When he pulls away, Dawn's eyes widen as she sees a golden heart shaped locket wrapped around her neck. When she opened the locket, it showed a picture of the two of them smiling brightly and cheerfully, so innocently.

"I know, Dawn, and I reassure you that there's no need to worry!" Ash says with a smile as he holds her close to him. "Because by the time we return, we will take the next big step in our relationship!" As he says this, the black haired man falls to one knee and pulls out a diamond ring. Dawn gasps as the black haired man does this and has her hands to her mouth, unable to contain her surprise, tears of joy falling from her eyes.

"Dawn, you're the woman I love more than anyone, anything in the world… And it would make me the happiest man in the world if I made you mine…" Ash says softly with a warm, kind smile on her face as he takes her hand gently and tenderly. "Will you marry me…?" Dawn smiles as the black haired man asks her probably the biggest question in her life, tears of joy were streaming down her eyes as finally, she nods her head.

"… Yes… Yes… A thousand times, yes!" Dawn finally says, breaking down into tears of joy. "I-I love you too, Ash! So much that it hurts!" Ash smiles as he fits the ring in Dawn's ring finger. He then gets up and pulls the blue haired girl towards him with his eyes closed, and kisses her on tenderly on the lips for the very first time. The blue haired woman closes her eyes and returns the kiss passionately, the two staying there for what seemed like an eternity as the marines cheer from within the headquarters over the newly married couple.

"… _It's a funny thing isn't it? The more you want to hurt something, the easier it is to make them stop living… But no matter how much you love someone, you can't bring them back from being dead…" Dawn narrates with her voice a much sadder, more emotional tone. "That day, I lost something precious to me… Something I cherished the most… Something irreplaceable… I will never forget that day, because it was the darkest day in my career as a marine…"_

It was the day of the biggest battle in her history as a marine. The 1st division and the 2nd division marines banded together to take down these monstrous juggernaut pirates. Rumors had it that when the Blackhand Pirates set sail, they would bring storms within their wake. Ash and Dawn discovered first hand that these rumors were true…

 _We made the first move, firing our cannons at the Blackhand Pirate's ship. They return fired, and even though we fought valiantly, the 2_ _nd_ _division's ship was finally sunk eventually. My face paled and my eyes widened… Our ship was in bad shape, and it was here, we discovered just how severely outmatched we were…_

Ash didn't give up, however. With Pikachu on his shoulder, he prepared to board their ship. Dawn ran up to him, tears in her eyes and her lips quivering.

"Ash, please, don't go by yourself…" Dawn pleads softly with her lips quivering and tears streaming from her eyes. "Take me with you! We'll fight them together! We've always managed to pull through together before, we can do it again!" Ash gives Dawn a small, sad smile and shakes his head, his hand on her shoulders.

"Not this time, Dawn…" Ash says softly and in a sad voice with a small, sad smile on his face. "It's too dangerous for you to come with me, and I just can't bear the thought of something terrible happening to you. You are the love of my life, and I will not take that risk! I will protect you with every ounce of my strength… I love you, and I will return, I promise!" As he says this Ash leaps off into battle. The two stare into each other's eyes for a bit as Ash kisses Dawn on the lips, for what would probably be the last time. He then quickly pulls away from her as she reaches out for him desperately with tears streaming down her eyes.

"AAAAAASH!" Dawn screamed out loud, reaching out for him. Their ship had to pull away, the storm was getting too severe and their ship had already taken too much damage. She could only watch as her ship grew further and further from the Blackhand Pirate's ship. The last thing the blue haired woman saw with widened eyes was the silhouetted figure of the Blackhand Pirates Captain, his arms crossed and a cruel smirk on his face as he fires towards our now battered and severely damaged battleship, blasting it to smithereens…

Moments later, the blue haired woman regained consciousness. As her eyes flutter open, she finds herself in the marine headquarters, in the hospital room. "Wh-Where am I?" Dawn mutters weakly. Johanna comes up to Dawn with a small, sad smile on her face.

"Y-You're back home, Dawn dear… You're in the medical room back in Marine Headquarters!" Johanna says softly, her face filled with relief that her daughter had made it back alright. She had learned that the mission was a total failure and that the casualties were severe. Johanna then hugs her daughter, embracing her. "Thank Arceus you're alright…" As she sobs into Dawn's shoulder, her blue haired daughter has her eyes widen as she sits up.

"Ash!" She exclaims out loud. "Where's Ash, mom? I-Is he here?" Dawn asks frantically, her lips quivering. Johanna has her eyes shadowed at this as the blue haired woman desperately cling to her for answers. "Where is he, mom? He made it back, didn't he? He promised! He promised he would make it back!" As she says this, Johanna holds out a black captain's coat and Dawn could feel her heart sink as tears stream from her eyes.

"… I'm sorry, Dawn… This was the only thing we could find that was his…" Johanna says softly and quietly. "You've been unconscious for three days, and we searched everywhere for him, but in the end, that was the only thing we could find… It was a painful decision to make, but he's missing, and we presume that he's… dead… I'm so sorry…" As Johanna says this, Dawn clutches Ash's coat and breaks down into tears, sobbing over the one who she had loved and lost.

"W-We were supposed to get married, weren't we…?" Dawn sobs softly in a hoarse, choked voice with tears streaming down her eyes with her eyes screwed shut tightly, breaking down completely at the loss of her beloved. "Y-You can't be gone! You just can't! I-I love you… Wh-What am I supposed to do without you by my side…? All those memories, all those fun times we had… they can't just end like this, right?! Right?!" She then remembers when they shared their first kiss with each other, how pure, and beautiful it was… And this memory makes it even more painful for the poor, blue haired woman… It made it even harder for her to accept that she had lost something that was precious and irreplaceable to her that day.

"D-Don't let that be my last memory of you!" She sobs in a weak, hoarse voice with her eyes screwed shut tightly as more tears stream down her eyes and her hands to her lips. The blue haired woman crumples and curls into a ball while sobbing softly, clutching Ash's coat in her arms. Johanna is silent and does her best to comfort the broken blue haired woman, but this loss of her was severe, and her wounds ran deep… She wouldn't be able to heal these scars so easily…

In present day, Dawn's blissful dream had turned into a nightmare as it turned out. Her eyes were screwed shut tightly as these painful memories torment her mind and tears stream down her eyes as she tosses and turns in her bed. "Ash… Ash…" She moans softly, sobbing silently to herself and clutching Ash's coat in her arms tightly.

" _Days later was the funeral, I just couldn't attend… It was just too painful for me… Knowing that I had failed… Knowing that if I had been stronger, maybe… just maybe Ash would still be around…" Dawn narrates in a softer tone. It was that day where I had changed completely. I was naïve and innocent, but one heartbreaking experience taught me just how cruel the world could be, how easy it was to lose the one you loved the most and I took that lesson to heart ever since. I swore I would never fall in love again, not only because I was still loyal to Ash, but because I just couldn't bear to endure heartbreak for a second time. And it was also that day, where I had come to despise pirates…_

The final scene takes Dawn to Johanna's office. She was now wearing Ash's coat over her shoulders and as she enters her room, she salutes. With Ash gone, someone else needed to be appointed as the 1st division captain.

"Y-You are now captain of the 1st division, Dawn dear…" Johanna says in a shaky voice, knowing that this meant that she was replacing Ash. It was meant to be a memorable occasion for the blue haired girl, but now, it was more of a bittersweet tragedy. Still, Johanna salutes with her lips quivering. "C-Congratulations, Captain Hikari…" She says, putting her personal bias behind to do her job. The blue haired woman complies. Her eyes were no longer pure, innocent and naïve, they were fierce, strong-willed, and determined, always looking forward, but never forgetting. Because she knew that Ash wouldn't want for her to cry forever.

"Captain Hikari, at your service, madam!" The blue haired woman salutes, determined and fierce while looking forward as the flashback ends.

Back in present day, Dawn was still tossing and turning, her eyes screwed shut tightly and tears streaming from her eyes from her terrible nightmare, moaning Ash's name softly in a hoarse, weak voice. Paul had heard the commotion and comes in. His eyes widen as he saw how vulnerable the poor blue haired woman seemed, how weak and frail she looked. This wasn't the strong-willed Dawn he knew, this was her true self. She was hurt, she was scared. She needed someone to be there for her… Anyone! Finally, Paul decides to gather his courage and goes up to the blue haired woman, holding her hand and reassuring her that everything was alright.

"Shhhh, it's okay, Dawn, it's okay…" Paul whispers softly to the blue haired woman, calling her by her real name for the very first time. "Everything is going to be alright now… You're safe…" As he says these words, Dawn's eyes return to normal as she goes back to sleeping peacefully, tears still streaming down her eyes. Paul pauses at how vulnerable the blue haired woman seemed right now. He lifts her chin and leans forward to kiss her, unable to resist how beautiful she was. But at the very last moment, he pulls away with his eyes shadowed.

… He had no right to love her… He could be there for her, he could comfort her when she needed, but he could never claim her as his own…

… He just wouldn't allow it…

 **To be continued…**

 **Woot, that was a great chapter! So much fun to write! XDXDXD Next chapter will be on a bit of a pause for a bit as I finish Silver Bonds. Hey, I know what you're thinking, but I have to give my other stories equal treatment, right? XD**

 **That was my first attempt at Pearlshipping… It was fun… not gonna lie… XD I hope that you Pearlshippers enjoyed that. And for you Ikarishippers, don't worry, it's not like I'm completely shafting Ikarishipping. Like I said, I'm giving both shippings a fair shot. I made sure to have some fun little Ikarishipping moments scattered throughout as well, so yeah! :PP**

 **Dawn: Aw, my past was so sad, but so sweet… I-I think I shed a tear for a minute there… -sniffles and wipes tears-**

 **Me: DUN CRY DAWN, I LURVES YOU~! –Hug tackles-**

 **Dawn: -blocks me with Piplup- Yeah, I know… -sweat drops-**

 **Anyways, what you're all waiting for, the preview for next chapter! I don't have the idea fully fleshed out like I did for the past three chapters, but I have a general idea of where I want to go with the next chappy. :PP It'll be a more silly, filler chapter, since we just had a serious, major plot relevant chapter just now. XD Also, as usual, be sure to review, favorite, leave constructive criticism so I can improve, and don't flame me, please? I work really hard to pump these chappies out for you guys!**

 _ **Preview: As Paul and Dawn continue to survive on the island together on their own, they're suddenly approached by island natives. Could they be friend or foe? And why are they worshipping Dawn's Empoleon? Next time on Land Ho, Tribal Madness**_

 **~Honou**


	4. Tribal Madness

**Well, I learned my lesson after Hunter J and I'm never letting someone else do the disclaimer for me ever again… So… I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by those doods in Nintendo. But you already know that, right? :PP**

 **Here's chapter 4! :DD I know it's been a while, but I'm not dead guys! I'll have more chappies of Land Ho and possible new stories coming soon! I've also ready your guys feedback, and I've determined that you all prefer Pearlshipping over Ikarishipping. I'll still do Ikarishipping for all you Ikari lovers out there once in a while, but Pearlshipping seems to be the meta right now if you get what I mean. :PP**

 **Also, this story's rating will be changed to Rated M. I have a few mature content plot points planned ahead, so I may as well change it now rather than later. Trust me when I say this, shit is about to go down after this chapter. XD**

 **Anyways, this chapter is sorta a filler. I mean, after the huge plot bomb I gave last chapter, we could use a fun light hearted chapter, right? Right. But we'll be getting to the good stuff soon, I promise. You could call this the calm before the storm! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter 4: Tribal Madness**

The next day, Dawn opens her eyes and wakes up and sits up on her bed. She then groans a bit from the dream she had last night and takes some time to wake up. She then pauses a bit as she looks down to see Paul was kneeling next to the blue haired woman, sleeping peacefully. He had watched over her all night, and took care of her while she was having those nightmares. The blue haired woman smiles at this and shakes him awake gently.

"Rise and shine! It's morning!" She tells the purple haired man as she wakes him up gently. Paul grunts as he slowly lifts his head and gets up. He then looks up at Dawn, and realizes he had fallen asleep last night and backs away with a deep blush on his cheeks while looking away.

"I-I'm… I'm sorry… I didn't mean for that to happen…" Paul mutters sheepishly while a bit flustered from being awoken by the blue haired woman. "Y-You were having a nightmare, so I came in to calm you down, and before I knew it, I-" Before he could finish what he was saying, the blue haired woman smiles and puts a finger to his mouth to silence him.

"Relax, I know you wouldn't do anything to take advantage of me on purpose! You saved my life, after all!" Dawn says reassuringly. "I decided to trust you, because I believe I owe it to you." Paul smiles as the blue haired woman says this and nods his head. He then gets up and heads out room, gesturing her to follow him.

"Well, come! We have a long day ahead of us!" Paul says to the blue haired woman. "We've got to find ourselves food if we want to survive here. And possibly find our Pokemon, wherever they are. They were stranded with us, so they couldn't have gotten far. Hopefully they didn't get separated away from us!" As the purple haired man explains this, Dawn nods her head and gets up on her own two feet. Her injuries had healed overnight more or less, and she felt well enough to stand again.

Moments later, Dawn and Paul were foraging deep inside the forest, beginning their search. As the two of them explore deep inside the forest, the two of them pause while narrowing their eyes. Something, or someone, was watching them.

"It looks like we're being watched…" Paul says silently to the blue haired woman. "Stay on guard! We don't have any weapons or Pokemon to defend ourselves. So be careful." He says to the blue haired woman. Dawn smiles at this and nods her head.

"I appreciate the concern, but it's unneeded." The blue haired woman says reassuringly. "As a marine, I went through rigorous hand-to-hand combat training just for situations like this! I'm not to be trifled with!" Paul smiles back and nods his head. She really was a strong willed woman… Just the kind of woman he would want… He then realizes what he was thinking and shakes these thoughts away while red in the cheeks. He couldn't… He said to himself he wouldn't bring himself to fall for this woman. He then focuses himself, looking around for when their stalkers would strike.

As it would turn out, their stalkers soon make their appearance, with spears raised and pointed at them threateningly should they make a wrong move. It appeared that they were island natives, who made a living for themselves in this island. Paul and Dawn have their eyes narrowed and nod their heads. There was no point in fighting here. They wandered into their territory and they were simply defending themselves. Closing their eyes, Paul and Dawn hold their hands up in surrender. The island natives see that they weren't going to put up a fight and go up to them, tying their wrists with rope and pushing them along, having the two of them follow along as they're taken to their village.

Moments later, the two of them are brought back to the native's tribal village. They're brought before a shadowed figure sitting idly on a throne, watching the over the tribal natives. Dawn and Paul are forced onto their knees as the tribal natives bow and utter a strange, incomprehensible language to the figure before them, but the two of them could gather that they were being offered as sacrifices. The figure stands up and appears before them, emerging from the shadows. Dawn's eyes widen in complete and utter shock… It couldn't be…

… Standing right in front of them… was Dawn's Empoleon, crowned with a veil of flowers and dressed in riches… The blue haired woman was… puzzled… to say the least.

"No way, Empoleon, this is where you've been this whole time…?" Dawn muses with widened eyes while reeling back in utter shock. The Penguin Pokemon seemed to have recognized its master and faces the tribal members, speaking to them.

"Po, Empo!" The Penguin Pokemon says to them while waving its flippers regally. The tribal members seem to understand what Empoleon was telling them and mutter to themselves in their strange language to each other, and nod their heads. They then undo the bindings tying both Dawn and Paul. The blue haired woman smiles as the Penguin Pokemon goes up to its master and hugs her affectionately, petting its head as it glomps her.

"It's great to see you've managed to cope on your own, Empoleon!" Dawn says to her Pokemon affectionately. "So these people found you and now worship you, eh? You must feel like king of the world, right?" She says teasingly to her Pokemon as she strokes its chin. The Pokemon simply puffs its chest proudly and prideful as she says this and nods its head. Paul smiles, seeing that Dawn and her Pokemon were reunited. He then raises an eyebrow and scratches the back of his head while looking a bit puzzled.

"If Empoleon is here, then Electivire should be around too, right? I wonder where he is-" He begins while pondering, but his question is answered as the electric Pokemon is seen locked in quite a fierce battle. His opponent was another Empoleon, but it was slimmer and smaller than Dawn's Empoleon, less trained and developed compared to hers. The smaller Empoleon charges a torrent of water in its mouth and tries to fire, but the attack fails. Electivire shakes his head and motions it to come at him. Paul smiles at this and nods his head. Electivire was always a Pokemon who loved a great battle. However, before the battle could intensify any further, the other Empoleon turns away, completely unmotivated and lies down on a rock, scratching at its back with its flipper. Electivire and Paul both fall to the floor anime style. Electivire was just getting into the groove of things when the Penguin Pokemon stopped battling.

"Looks like that Empoleon over there is lacking in the motivation department." Dawn muses while watching. She then looks up at her Empoleon and tips her head. "Is something wrong?" She asks curiously. Empoleon lets out a gruff, prideful grunt with his arms crossed and a slight red in his cheeks while puffing his chest out regally. Dawn blinks as her Pokemon does this, but puts two and two together and gets a bit of a coy grin on her face as she pokes her Pokemon teasingly and in a bit of a playful manner.

"Ah, I see now… That Empoleon over there is a female, and you have a crush on her, don't you?!" Dawn says knowingly and comically. Empoleon twitches at this and gets a comical cat ripple, but then looks away while red in the cheeks and lets out a comical grunt, refusing to admit she was right. The blue haired woman smiles and nods her head. "Alright, I more or less understand what's going on here. These people worship and respect the Piplup line, and that Empoleon over there is supposedly the village's next guardian. However, it doesn't have the motivation or the drive to do its job. So Electivire is trying to fire up that Pokemon's spirit while my Empoleon serves as a temporary guardian in her stead! And all this time, you've been trying to make yourself cool and presentable to score yourself some points, right?" As she says this, Empoleon is red in the cheeks, but nods his head in the end, admitting that her master was right.

"Well, now we know what the problem is here in this village of theirs, what should we do?" Paul asks the blue haired woman. "Unless we help these people out, Empoleon can't leave here. And how do we motivate that Empoleon to do her job properly?" Dawn thinks about it and looks at Empoleon. He looked as if he wasn't going to be going anywhere until he helped and impressed her. The blue haired woman thinks about it for a second, and then, looks up and smiles.

"Alright, I've decided. We're going to help these people! And at the same time, I can help my Pokemon here find some love. Just leave everything to me!" She muses with a giggle as she pumps her fist energetically. Paul smiles and decides to leave everything to the blue haired woman while Empoleon grows red in the cheeks at this comically and looks the other way while a bit embarrassed. "I think the first thing we need to do here, Empoleon, is show off how impressive your role here is. Make sure to look good out there, and really present yourself to her! That way you're not only presenting the role that she should be playing, but you're making yourself look more presentable as well! Go get em, Tiger~!" She says with a grin as she smacks her Pokemon on the back. Empoleon has wide comical eyes as he's smacked on the back and pushed forward towards the other Empoleon. The female Empoleon lazily looks up at Dawn's Empoleon from her rock bed, lying down lazily and scratching at her behind, yawning tiredly. Dawn's Empoleon swallows hard, and seemed to be trembling. It seemed to be nervous, but finally, it gathers itself.

"Po, Empoleon!" The Penguin Pokemon says as he poses, showing off the jewels dressed all over his body and the sleek sheen of his armor. However, the other Empoleon seemed uninterested and is lightly snoring comically. Empoleon cringes at this comically and flinches, but then sees Dawn cheering him on, urging him not to be discouraged. The Penguin Pokemon complies and charges a Hydro Pump into the air with full power, showing off how strong and powerful he was. The Female Empoleon looks at him with one eye opened, but then turns away, uninterested while yawning comically. Dawn's Empoleon comically turns to stone as this happens and falls to the floor on his flippers and knees comically while sulking and having a depressed aura surrounding him. Dawn cringes a bit as this happens and sweat drops as she watches the scene unfold.

"Ouch… she's a tough one alright… Nice effort though, Empoleon…" Dawn says comically as her Pokemon sulks. She then puts her finger to her chin, thinking of another way to possibly motivate the other Empoleon. "Hm, maybe first of all, we need to figure out what's wrong here. Why she's acting this way." The blue haired woman then comes up to the Empoleon and kneels down to ask her what was wrong.

"Hi there! My name is Dawn Hikari. I'm the 1st division captain of the marines. It's nice to meet you, Empoleon!" She says to the Penguin Pokemon. "So I was wondering what you're doing here? Why are you lying here and not doing your job as village deity? The villagers need you, you know." She says to the Pokemon in a kind voice. The Penguin Pokemon looks up at Dawn, but then, looks away while lying down. She then fidgets around and pauses a bit, before holding out a small picture of a powerful, tough looking Feraligatr. Dawn pauses a bit and puts two and two together, able to figure everything out by herself. The Feraligatr in the picture was a Pokemon Empoleon had feelings for, and it seemingly had disappeared someday. This caused Empoleon anxiety, as she waited for her true love to return. It was just like how Dawn's situation with Ash was… The two of them were similar… The blue haired woman pauses and gives the Pokemon a small, sympathetic smile and puts a hand on Empoleon's shoulder while smiling softly.

"I know it hurts to be separated by the one you love… I know first-hand the pain of losing someone you love…" Dawn says to the Pokemon softly. "But instead of lying around, waiting for him to come back, shouldn't you be going out there, doing your best for his sake? I'm in the exact same spot you're in right now, and I once thought losing him meant the end of everything, but that experience only made me stronger… And I know he's still out there somewhere… I just need to believe. Will you believe in Feraligatr and wait for him to return?" She asks the Pokemon kindly. Empoleon pauses for a bit and looks at Dawn. Finally, she gets up and nods her head, having a determined look in her eyes and finally finding her motivation. The tribal villagers beam at this and look completely surprised that their Empoleon was finally motivated to do her job and go up to her, praising her in their language. Dawn smiles as the problem seemed to be resolved while Empoleon is shown to be comically in tears. The blue haired woman sweat drops and pats her Empoleon on the back.

"Well, tough luck there, buddy. But there's plenty of fish in the sea out there, right?" She says to her partner comfortingly and comically. "What say we get out of here? We need to find a way out of this island after all!" She says to her Pokemon. The Penguin Pokemon fights back the tears and nods his head comically. Paul watched the whole thing and couldn't help but smile. And he was able to find newfound respect for the young, blue haired woman. He then closes his eyes and pets Electivire on the back, urging it to follow along. "We're going too, Electivire!" He says to his Pokemon as he follows after Dawn.

Dawn and Paul wave farewell to the tribal village and their Empoleon. As thanks for their efforts in solving their problems, Dawn and Paul were given a small feast and some food to take on the go before they left. As they leave, Dawn smiles and waves at the tribal people and their Empoleon, heading back to their hideout.

"Take care, and be on your best behavior, Empoleon! When Feraligatr returns, be sure to welcome him back with all your heart!" Dawn calls out to her as she waves farewell. She then turns around, making his leave with Paul.

"Well, that turned out well… We have more than enough food to survive until help arrives!" Paul muses to Dawn with a smile on his face. "And we didn't become tribal food… I would say this whole thing turned out to be a great day." Dawn looks at Paul and nods her head.

"Yeah, I would say so too…" She says softly as she looks onwards, looking up to the sky with thoughts of Ash, thinking that he was still out there… somewhere… maybe… just maybe… She then closes her eyes before opening them and looks at Paul with a grin. "Last one back to the camp is a rotten Exeggcutor~!" She says teasingly and playfully to Paul as she runs ahead of him. Paul has WCE as she says this and catches him off guard. He then grins and runs after her, looking to catch up as the sun sets in the distance.

 **To be continued**

 **Phew, finally, the filler chapter is done… I know it took a long time, and if felt kinda rushed towards the end, but I really didn't know the direction I was headed towards this chapter and it took me a while to finally establish something good. I think I got a hold of something decent by the end of it all. XD**

 **Dawn's personality was a bit different in this chapter, but I guess you can say that this is a sign that some of Dawn's old personality is showing and she's starting to open up to Paul a bit. XD I mean, he did save her life, so yeah. XD**

 **Anyways, enough rambling. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it was brief. :PP I won't make any promises, but I hope to put out chapters a bit faster than usual. As usual, be sure to review, favorite, and all that good stuff. Don't flame though! Nothing good comes out of hating on me, so don't do it! Anyways, here's the preview for the next chapter. XD**

 _ **Preview: The finale of the Stranded Island Arc. At long last, Dawn and Paul's salvation arrives, as the marines and the Galactic pirates come to their rescue. Now the two must go their separate ways, but not before thanking each other for everything. And Johanna's and Cyrus's relationship is finally revealed. Next time on Land Ho, Rescued.**_

 **~Honou**


End file.
